Interaction 16 asks: How do we make technology more empathetic?

Does privacy need better design? What are the ramifications of emotional design? Of attachment to artificial intelligence? These were some of the big ideas on display in Helsinki for Interaction 16, a conference started by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). IxD16, as the conference is called, was held March 1-4 this year. The conference is an industry gathering, but with the feel of an “un-school.” Topics all technically focus on interaction design, the more technical and systems-design thinking that sits within user experience design. UX (and no worries if you haven’t heard of it) is a design methodology that is responsible for laying out websites and providing specific rationale behind maximizing user centricity. Every wonder about the systems-thinking behind your iOS or Android apps? Well, a UX designer and or an interaction designer came up…